I'd try a classical sampler off the front of something like the ClassicFM magazine. Or try listening to ClassicFM to get a feel for what you might like.
Just now I'm listening to Nicola Benedetti's first album – she's a violinist, so it's all violin, but quite varied. Also Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto #3 for a bit of blood and thunder

undo the zip and climb inside whilst wearing the appropriate middle eighties wine bar pompous expression. alternatively just go out and buy some Liszt or Rachmaninov and listen to it within the confines of your own home.

Don't shy away from more 'popular' pieces. They help one appreciate what music can be about. Pachelbel's 'Canon in D', for example, is the most overplayed, abused piece of music in human history, but if you actually sit and listen to it for all its subtleties, it can be very beautiful.

Beyond that, listen to something like Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' all the way through, then move up through the periods.

Finally, don't neglect late-nineteenth/early-twentieth century French composers, like Ravel, Debussey, and Satie.

But you really must listen. It's not enough to put it on in the background, and wonder what all the fuss is about…

Buy a film scores or telly adverts CD that has all the tunes you recognise** but know nothing about. Then you'll find out what you like. Of course if you have a Spotify account you can fill your boots right there.

Classic FM over the headphones via internet radio here at work for me.
Most of the stuff they play is pretty good and occasionally you can find a real gem.
Radio 3 is good for full length concerts without the adverts.

Or try one of the "best of" or "classical film music" compilation albums.

Try Elgar, Mendelsson (Hebridean Overture)William Barber(Adagio for strings)All these lot have done is strung together a load of advert tunes of of the telly just like Shakespeare did with famous sayings. 😉

Try Last FM when you have a few composers names. Type in Holst. Re – Holst, The Planet Suite is a goodun.

The problem with buying classical music is that you get umpteen recordings of the same piece. Some can be as old as the hills and many are quite mediocre. A good recording will blow you away, but i'm talking about listening on a proper hifi. Deutsche Grammophon have a good reputaion for quality recording as do some of the BBC's. It's a bit of a lottery getting it right. If you listen to web radio, you can sometimes get the label and pressing number.

Classical music ?, its good stuff alright, but theres so much of it, who can tell whats going to flick your switch

Scanning the thread, the suggestion of listening to Classic FM is a good idea. If you're new to it, I'd not get too bogged down in the detail, just listen and look at what is popular as its popularity is for a reason.

Not sure if its still online, but one of the good things about Classic FM was that if you heard something you liked, then as long as you knew when you heard it, you could go online later and find out the details of that particular item, etc.
7pm to 9pm week days is a good slot, imo.

I don't claim to know much about it, but I know what I like and my life is richer for my liking and listening to Classical music.

Good Luck, I hope you find something that does for you, what classical music does for me.

A good recording will blow you away, but i'm talking about listening on a proper hifi

Good point – listening on a decent MP3 plyer through decent headphones is ok, but an Ipod/mp3 through hi-fi amp just won't cut it. I was looking at replacing my CD player with an Ipod and tried one through the stereo. All fine until I tried some classical and the difference in quality was seriously noticable – and I'm not an audiophile by any means. Classical uses volume as an instrument, so you can get really quiet pieces which draw you in, and th's where sound quality counts/

The problem with buying classical music is that you get umpteen recordings of the same piece.

this has always been the stumbling block for me. Now, I know that, in reality, if I like the piece in the round, searching out different recordings by different orchestras/soloists/conductors can really add to the appreciation, but somehow that initial sense of being over-faced with choice stops me.

That's the Classic FM slot which I hate! Just goes to show how tastes differ, that's the "Smooth Classics" one (actually it's 6pm – 9pm). I like the afternoon slot, 3pm – 6pm where there's a good mix of generally fairly lively stuff and a good DJ.

Try looking on YouTube, there's loads of stuff up there. Haydn and Hummel are 2 of the "lesser known" composers worth looking up.

I listen to Classic FM – some seriously impressive music on there…there is a lot of stuff that I find total garbage but overall, it's a great station for background music where you can turn up up when a piece appeals.

I can't stand the smarmy tone of the Classic FM announcers, to be honest.

And furthemore, I think that most of the composers they play would be offended that their's was 'music to relax to'. It's supposed to move and to challenge FFS. Not pretentiously sip white wine or fall asleep at the wheel to!

Have a nice bottle of wine sit back and listen to Albinoni's Adagio. You'll immediately appreciate what's good about classical. Other than that you can't go wrong if you start with Elgar, Beethoven/Tchaikovsky piano works or their 5th symphonies. Vivaldi's Four Seasons is very good except that every call centre going uses it, but don't let that put you off. Dvorak's New World Symphony is good. Some Rachmaninov also. The world is your oyster.

I started with a subscription to a CD firm thast sent out one recording a month, but they seem to have gone the way of all retailers, so look for something similar that's downloadable. You won't like everything, nobody does.

I keep meaning to buy that. The null[]London Sinfonietta[/url] album on Warp is pretty good, disappointed they didn't put a Boards of Canada track on there though. I went to a couple of those performances and they were spectacularly good in places. Steve Reich pieces in particular IIRC.